Under-the-Radar Talent: Sofie Nieuwbørg. Meet the Antwerp Academy graduate who introduced her eccentric, whimsical and witty character into her designs.
Young designer, Sofie Nieuwbørg one of the rising star of fashion from Belgium that got our eyes peered towards her eccentric, whimsical and witty character translated into her designs. Having studied in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp under in the Antwerp Fashion Department, Sofie now holds two collections, the first being “The Future is Female” in 2016 and her latest collection “Mastering in Life” this 2017.
Sofie Nieuwbørg collections are inspired greatly by the memories and experiences she has had during her summer holidays during university. While “The Future is Female” speaks about the ever-present theme of feminism, her latest collection “Mastering in Life” adds flair of her introspection and getting to know the self in the coming years upon graduating. Sofie focuses on being ambiguous, not made known and being open to a wider interpretation from her audience that have gotten to know who she was from her bachelor collection, “The Future is Female”. In “Mastering in Life”, the hues, blue orange, purple and red become a dominant color palette of the collection. As described by Sofie on her website, these shades personify the things that may change and stay the same: those that are constant and become variables.
Sofie’s usage of terms strength and frailness also become a major theme to her collections. The use of delicate fabrics and textiles such as tulle garments filled with dried flowers become motifs to her latest collection, “Mastering in Life”. The idea of fragility in the combination becomes “a nice reminder of time pasting and to dry them is a form of nostalgia, to wish away the fact that they will perish,” as the designer casually phrases it on her website.
Bulky and oversized features add extra volume and silhouettes throughout the pieces. Color-blocking, occasional graphic prints as well as subtle layering constructs her sporty-inspired collection that clashes beautifully with an avant-garde, Victorian-style wear – two opposing features she manage to harmonize.
Sofie Nieuwbørg seeks to create stories from the pieces she create hoping that her stories will remain an indelible mark and become a positive inspiration to those donned in them. Flip through the gallery to browse through the pieces of her collection. (Text Beata Primana)